A challenge associated with changing a tubeless tire is the difficulty associated with establishing the initial seal between the bead of the tire and the bead-seating surface of the rim on which the tire is to be mounted. This difficulty results from the fact that, when a tire is uninflated, the open space or gap between its bead and the bead-seating surface of the rim is often so large that seating is prevented by the leakage of air therethrough. At the same time that the gap renders the tire unable to hold air, the inability of the tire to hold air prevents it from expanding so as to reduce the size of the gap. This problem is more apparent in the case of heavy truck tires, particularly radial truck tires, because the stiffness of such tires makes them resistant to forces that tend to reduce the gap sufficiently for seating to occur.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a seating apparatus and method to address at least these issues.